A Community Grieves As Loss Of Star Youth Sinks In

February 21, 1995|By Peter Baniak, Tribune Staff Writer.

Streamers of white tissue paper still danced in the wind from the branches of a tree in front of Moshe Rogers' house Monday morning.

The paper had been strung through the branches three days before, a lighthearted prank by Rogers' friends at Aurora Central Catholic High School as they anticipated a victory in a high school basketball game Friday night.

Over the weekend, in the aftermath of Rogers' shooting death on his way home from that game, his family just couldn't bring themselves to take the tribute down.

"That was an act of love," said his older sister, Manisa. "It says a lot about his friends, about how he touched them. So we're going to let it stay there."

Rogers, 17, a promising basketball and track star, was shot in the head while driving home from Aurora Central on Friday night. Police said Monday that they had no suspects.

But as the wind slowly carried the streamers skyward, relatives, friends and community members began the difficult process of moving forward with their lives.

"Today, we hope the healing process can begin in this city," said Aurora Mayor David Pierce. "Senseless acts of violence shock us all, but now it's time for the community to begin coming to grips with what happened."

To help, Pierce said, Aurora has doubled the reward for information leading to an arrest in the case to $5,000.

The city also has set up a Moshe Rogers Fund at Merchants Bank, 34 S. Broadway Ave., Aurora, which will be used to augment the reward and to help Rogers' family with funeral expenses.

On Monday, Aurora police released a composite sketch of a possible witness to the shooting, one of two men seen standing on a corner near the school as Rogers and his younger brother, Marchel, 15, stopped to offer a ride to a fellow student.

The man is described as a 17- to 19-year-old Hispanic male, about 5 feet 10 inches tall, 155 pounds, with short dark hair, said police Lt. Mike Gilloffo.

That sketch is one of the few leads being followed by police, who still had not established a motive in the killing, Gilloffo said.

"There is someone out there who knows something," said Marchel Rogers. "We just want them to come forward, to help us solve this."

Of all those touched by the shooting, Rogers' parents, James and Mary, faced the most difficult task Monday, making funeral and memorial arrangements for the son they lovingly called "Shey." On Monday evening, those arrangements had not yet been finalized.